Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oil strainer which is disposed within an oil pan connected to a lower portion of a combustion engine and sucks oil, and an oil storage device for a vehicle including the oil strainer.
Description of Related Art
In a combustion engine mounted on a vehicle such as a motorcycle, an oil pan is disposed at a lower portion of the combustion engine, and oil is supplied to each component of the combustion engine by an oil pump which drives in conjunction with the combustion engine. An oil strainer is disposed between the oil pan and the oil pump in order to remove solid components from the oil (e.g., JP Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-077925). The oil strainer includes a strainer main body forming a portion of an oil passage and an oil filter accommodated within the strainer main body, which oil filter removes solid components or debris.
The conventional oil strainer 200, as shown in FIG. 6B includes a filter housing portion 202 having a large passage area provided in a strainer main body 201 and an oil filter 204 disposed in the filter housing portion 202. Accordingly, the filter area is increased, and the passage resistance when the oil passes through the oil filter 204 is decreased.
When the combustion engine stops, the oil pump also stops, and thus, the oil within the strainer main body 201 returns to the oil pan. However, in the oil strainer 200 in FIG. 6B, when the combustion engine is stopped, a part 206 of the oil remains within the filter housing portion 202 in some cases. In such a case, even if the oil within the oil pan is discharged at the time of oil changing, the part 206 of the oil remaining within the filter housing portion 202 is not discharged.